Just in case you haven't heard the buzz already, Stitch Red is a growing campaign, started by our very own Jimmy (formally known as Laura Zander) and embraced by knitters, crocheters, local yarn shops, independent designers and yarn companies world-wide. The mission? To stick it to heart disease.

Several years back, Jimmy was shocked to learn that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S., more deadly than all forms of cancer combined. So, naturally, she wanted to do something about it. The idea started with a book (more on that later), but in true Jimmy form, it couldn't end there. So, she talked to as many designers, manufacturers, and LYS owners as she could. The result? This blossoming campaign to raise awareness of heart disease in women.

So, what can you do to help? You can knit, crochet and sew red across the country and around the world until people start to take notice. You can wear red proudly as a symbol of your healthy heart and your commitment to keeping it healthy. You can support the women you love in their efforts to live healthier lives and prove that we can be both crafty women AND active women. Most importantly, you can learn how to be good to your heart and share what you learn with the women (and men) you know. And when someone compliments you on the gorgeous shawl or sweater or socks you make out of this month's colorway (or even the fabulous active outerwear you make out of the new Sportmate), we hope you'll use the compliment as a chance to spread the word about Stitch Red and heart health.

Did I mention 5% of JBW profits AND 5% of Lorna's Laces profits from this colorway will benefit the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health in support of The Heart Truth®? All the more reason to start stitching red!

This campaign would not be possible without the participation of Stitch Red partners, and their Stitch Red products. Independent designers and yarn manufacturers have joined forces with big names in the industry and local yarn stores to help in the fight against heart disease. Each partner has pledged to donate a minimum of 5% of their gross profits from all Stitch Red product sales to The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) in support of The Heart Truth® to help raise awareness about heart disease in women.

Why 5%, you ask? Why not 20% or 50% or even 100%? As a small business owner who saved up and scraped together enough to start a tiny yarn shop a decade ago, Jimmy understands that many LYSs and yarn manufacturers are family businesses that depend on their revenue to get by. By setting the minimum amount at 5%, we leave room for small businesses and independent designers to participate and do their share without causing a negative impact for their families. This way, we can choose to make a small difference every time we purchase a Stitch Red product. It may seem like just a drop in the bucket, but when you add the 40+ partners with over 70 Stitch Red products to all the individuals stitching red, we can fill up lots of buckets.

We also want to give a shout out to companies who go above and beyond--choosing to donate 100% of gross profits from their products to the cause. Skacel's Johnny's Socks Pattern is one such product and Lindabelinda's lovely ceramic button sets are another. Thanks for the generous support, from the bottom of our healthy hearts.

After many months of hard work, anticipation, and over 500 Knit Red copies pre-sold, we are excited to finally be shipping copies of Laura's first book! All of your support and enthusiasm for Knit Red has been truly heart warming!

This gorgeous book, featuring 30 eye-catching, red patterns from the industry's most prominent designers, is now available! With designs from Kieran Foley, Diane Soucy, Debbie Bliss, Norah Gaughan, Ysolda Teague, Jared Flood, and many more, Knit Red is sure to inspire some wonderfully red knits from across the nation! You can expect to see some of our favorite yarn manufacturers featured, too! Lorna's Laces, Classic Elite, Swans Island, Shibui and Artyarns - just to name a few! Add heart-healthy recipes and exercise tips for busy knitters, and you have a book that's one of a kind.

For those of you who don't know, Knit Red is Jimmy Beans Wool's contribution to our Stitch Red campaign; a nationwide campaign to promote awareness of the #1 killer of women in America - heart disease. We're proud to contribute such an amazing book to such a great cause.

To kick off the book's release, we're pleased to announce a Knit Red blog tour! For the month of June, Knit Red designers, yarn bloggers and podcast hosts will be featuring book giveaways. Tune in to the Stitch Red blog for a full schedule of dates and participating blogs!

Inspired by the release of Knit Red, and all of her loved ones who have suffered from heart disease, Kristen has created the Ruby Red Heart Hat to share with all of you! This free pattern features a heart lace design throughout the body, a nice slouchy fit, and pie-shaped decreases on the crown for a little extra style and shaping. Knit in Classic Elite Magnolia, a silk and merino wool blend DK weight yarn, this hat has a little bit of sheen and softness to compliment the open, lacy design. Kristen chose to use the Stitch Red color called Ruby which is a delightfully bright shade of red.

Here is what she has to say about her Ruby Red Heart Hat design:
"With my family history in mind, I created the Ruby Red Heart Hat. It's something that I can wear to remind me of this cause and to keep me ever-aware of the daily strides I take for my own health, like eating healthy, doing yoga and getting plenty of exercise. It uses Classic Elite's Magnolia yarn in the Stitch Red color (#5458- Ruby) and features a light and airy heart lace pattern to show support for the campaign. Stitch Red is such an amazing leap in the direction of heart disease awareness for women and the needlearts industry, and I am so excited and honored to be a part of the campaign (and the Knit Red book). All of us at Jimmy Beans hope you will join us as we strive to lead healthier, more active lives!"

We love Kristen's Ruby Red Heart Hat design and hope that you do too! Show your support for the Stitch Red campaign (and your excellent sense of style) by knitting this hat in any of the following yarns:

Join knitters all over the world for World Wide Knit in Public Day (WWKiP) June 9th through June 17th! Okay, so it's more like a week than a day--we don't mind! In 2005, Danielle Landes started WWKiP as a way to bring knitters together to enjoy each other's company. Now, seven years later, WWKiP is the largest knitter-run event in the world. Local events are put together and held worldwide by volunteers who want to bring knitters out into the world!
Bring your copy of Knit Red and start working on Tanis Gray's Lace Infinity Scarf for the fall!

And while you're knitting, broach the subject of heart health with the knitters around you. You will be surprised how much good advice the knitting community can share! What are your plans for World Wide Knit in Public Day? Share your stories with us on Facebook. We might even feature your WWKiP stories on our blog!

With the London Olympics on the horizon, Ravelry is getting their knitting teams together for the 2012 Ravelympics! Not familiar? Ravelympics is an event put on by Ravelry.com to challenge knitters to start and finish a project during the 2012 summer Olympics. Remember, there is only one rule (and it isn't "don't talk about Fight Club"). "The goal of the Ravelympics is to support you in expanding your knitting/crocheting horizons. Just remember the one rule: Challenge yourself."

Mass cast on starts July 27 at 7:30pm in London, so pick a project (Knit Red would be the perfect place to start! Or maybe the Stitch Red Kit of the Month at 20% off?) and make your yarn selections ahead of time. Make sure you've got plenty of Stitch Markers ready, a Quicksilver Handi Tool by your side, a darning needle to keep those pesky ends from interrupting your knitting, and some point protectors to keep your knitting safe while you take a break to rehydrate and get some exercise.

Our very own Jeanne Giles will be leading our Stitch Red Ravelympics team. Jeanne is hoping she can turn Ravelympics into not only a knitting event, but a way for knitters and crocheters nationwide to set heart healthy goals, too. Stay tuned for details!

Are you a local Reno customer looking to branch out into the wonderful world of sewing and quilting? A few of our Jimmy Beans gals will be manning a Stitch Red booth at the Western Sew, Quilt & Textile Expo from June 21st - June 23rd at The Grand Sierra Resort! We will be selling all of our Stitch Red products at the expo and would love to see your friendly faces! Stop by and chat with us about your personal Stitch Red story! We hope to see you there!

Most importantly, we would like to invite you to our shop for a book signing with Laura Zander and four of the designers from the book (Jeanne Giles, Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich, Diane Soucy and Ann Norling) on June 5th from 6pm-8pm! Bring your knitting, questions, and your favorite pen for these lovely ladies to sign your copy of Knit Red! Laura will also be doing a book signing at Churchmouse Yarns in Washington on Friday, June 8th, from 5pm-7pm. Can't make it to either of these? Stay tuned for more book signings in the near future!

Knitting and being active often seem like two contrasting concepts, but that hasn't always been the case. Take, for example, the traditional Shetland knitters. People of the Shetland islands off the northern coast of Scotland are known for their rich knitting culture. Historically, men in Shetland were fisherman, so the women were left at home to manage the entire household, regularly knitting garments for their families and to sell. As you can imagine, there wasn't much time for sitting and knitting, so they developed active knitting methods.

The most common method included use of a leather knitting belt that allowed the knitter to stabilize her needle with a padded pouch stuffed with horsehair to grip the needle. This method allows the knitter to one-handedly feed the needles and knit at lightening speed. Shetland women were known for their uncanny ability to knit fine-gauge Fair Isle sweaters in about a week, all while walking to and from various places and doing chores. Truly amazing!

For many of us, knitting while walking everywhere you go isn't necessarily practical, but here are some things that you can do to balance your favorite hobby and your heart health:

1) Try getting in your daily exercise BEFORE you knit. It's so easy to get wrapped up in a project and forget the time. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) website recommends that an adult get anywhere from 150-300 minutes of physical activity per week. If you exercise before you knit, you'll ensure that you are meeting these daily recommendations and doing the best you can for your heart!

2) Walking is one of the BEST physical activities you can do for your body. It is low impact on your joints, requires very little equipment (just a pair of comfortable shoes), and has been proven to lower a person's risks of various diseases, including heart disease. For particularly ambitious knitters, you might try knitting and walking with a simple project first and gradually build complexity until you are more comfortable with knitting and walking at the same time. The Namaste Classic and Urban Hip Holsters are wonderful tools to help you, featuring both a cross body strap and a belt attachment. This allows you to bring your knitting (and other essentials) with you everywhere!

4) Counter-balancing physical activity with light stretching is also important. Stretching keeps your muscles limber and helps to prevent injury. Gentle yoga is a great way to stretch AND help calm your body and mind, reducing stress, an important factor in lowering your risk of heart disease. Not to mention that as knitters, our neck shoulders and arms tend to get tired and sore after marathon knitting sessions. If you can't get to a yoga class regularly, try a gentle yoga video at home. Or try taking "yoga breaks" for ten minutes every hour as you knit!

*Beginning a new fitness routine should only be attempted after consulting your physician.

Two of our beans, Jeanne and Kristen, created designs for the Knit Red book, so this month we'd like to introduce them to you!

Jeanne has been with Jimmy Beans Wool for over five years, making her one of our most knowledgeable and experienced beans! She has used her creativity to help grow many aspects of the business over the years, including managing the retail store, creating free patterns for the website, blogging and keeping the conversation going in our Ravelry group, as well as coordinating and staring in many of our early video efforts! More recently, you will find Jeanne processing your returns and helping customer service with various jobs when things get busy around here. When not hard at work at Jimmy Beans, she works on her own pattern line and blog, Battle Born Knits. Jeanne's design in Knit Red is the lovely cotton Home Spa Set designed with the busy knitter in mind. It's the perfect gift to give or for yourself when you need to unwind with a hot bath at the end of the day and we think it's absolutely fabulous!

Jeanne's Heart Healthy Tip: "Eat as many raw foods every day as you can, especially dark leafy greens and veggies! You'll get more of your daily vitamins and feel more energized!"

Kristen has been with Jimmy Beans Wool for a few years now and is our in-house designer. Along with designing free patterns for you each month, she manages our social media, writes for this newsletter, and works on various other fun projects for us! When she isn't at work, she designs and blogs for her own pattern line, Marinade Designs. Her design for the Knit Red book is the Greenmarket Tote which uses one of her favorite cotton yarns: Plymouth Fantasy Naturale in a stunning red color. The pattern is knit in the round and features a fun heart lace design. Use it as a produce bag when you hit the farmer's market or as a knitting bag. Either way, it's a great way to show your support for Stitch Red!

Kristen's Heart Healthy Tip: "Get active and stay active! I sign up for running events well in advance so that I have to keep training. Even if I just go for a walk or do some yoga, it helps me stay in shape for my next race!"

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here is the brand new Knit Red Book Review by Laura Zander, Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich and Jeanne Giles of JBW!